(Left) Detail of portraits of Saints John and Peter, 215x76 cm, 1526, Pinakothek Museum, Munich, Germany. (Right) Detail of portraits of Saints Mark and Paul, 215x76 cm, 1526, Pinakothek Museum, Munich, Germany. Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) was the most important painter of the German Renaissance. Faithful to Northern artistic traditions, he was deeply influenced by Bellini in his early years, later by Leonardo da Vinci, and inspired by Protestantism. Initially attempting to grasp the world through observation of nature, after several art trips to Italy, he understood that mathematics and geometry entered art like science. He further studied nature and human anatomy, rediscovering new organizational elements. On a rational and mathematical foundation, he combined vivid imagery, skilled draftsmanship, and profound thought with rich expressiveness to master human visual images and inner forms. Through his scientific methods, he thus opened up the creative concepts of the German Renaissance. He was the main medium through which Italian Renaissance forms and theories spread to Northern Europe. Among his works, his prints had the greatest influence.